Friday, November 30, 2018

Marlon Brando is considered by many to be the greatest actor that ever lived. In his amazing career he won two Academy Awards. One for Best Actor in the 1954 movie "On The Waterfront" and in 1972, another for Best Actor in "The Godfather."

Not only was Marlon Brando a pioneer of cool, but he was also a lifetime Rolex wristwatch wearer. In this article we will see him wearing five different Rolex watches.

Marlon Brando's First Rolex

Marlon Brando was born in 1924, and received his first Rolex in 1943, at age 19 from his parents, and it is seen below. It was a Rolex Oyster Royalite Observatory model.

In the photo below we see Marlon Brando with his dad and notice he is wearing his Rolex Royalite which is pictured abovel.

The inscription on the back of the watch reads, "To Bud, from Mother & Dad. 1943" "Bud" was Marlon Brando's nickname his parents gave him when he was a child.

The Fugitive Kind (1960)

All The Crazy Moonphases

John Goldberger, the author of 100 Superlative Rolex Watches pointed out that in the 1960 movie, The Fugitive Kind, starring Marlon Brando and Joanne Woodward, that Marlon Brando mentions his Rolex Moonphase 6062. John also points out that he thinks the watch is a chronograph, but I can't see it well enough to tell. I definitely see the moonphase on the dial of the watch when Marlon hands it to Joanne.

John Goldberger pointed out to me in an email, "I think this is the first Rolex advertising in the movies, because I bet the original book or script by Tennessee Williams didn't mention the words Rolex Chronometer."

Update: In a follow-up email, John mentioned "Tennessee Williams wrote the script for The Fugitive Kind in 1937, at which time Rolex had NEVER made a Moonphase of any kind. This means that in 1960, the screenplay authors added the words Rolex Chronometer as well as the description for the Moonphase. Also the description is too precise for the knowledge of a film-maker, and the supreme irony is that the model was out of production in 1960!!"

Marlon Brando is pictured below in 1962 with his fellow Hollywood leading men including Rock Hudson, Cary Grant and Gregory Peck.

The Godfather (1972)

Don Vito Corleone

Marlon Brando starred in The Godfather in 1972, which is considered to be on of the best films of all time.

Last Tango In Paris (1972)

Marlon Brando starred in The Last Tango In Paris in which he wore a yellow gold Rolex Datejust as seen in the photos below.

In the next three photos, all taken in 1975 we see Marlon Brando sporting his Coke GMT Master on an Oyster bracelet. The first photo below shows Marlon Brando with famous rock and roll promoter, Bill Graham.

In the photo below, Marlon Brando is pictured with his secretary, and he is wearing his Rolex GMT Master.

Superman

In 1978 Marlon Brando played Superman's father Jor-El in Superman: The Movie.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Rolex GMT Master

In this next set of photos we see Marlon Brando wearing his Rolex GMT Master in the movie Apocalypse Now. Apocolypse Now was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and Marlon Brando played Colonel Walter Kurtz. Notice his Rolex GMT Master is missing its bezel. The following set of photos were taken by Mary Ellen Mark from Apocalypse Now.

In this next photo, taken in 1982, we see Marlon Brando pictured with Native American activist and leader of the American Indian Movement, and Brando is wearing his Rolex GMT-Master on a Rolex Oyster Bracelet.

Wearing Two GMT-Masters

The two next photos are screen grabs from the 1989 Connie Chung interview, which can be seen below. The photos show that for some reason, Marlon Brando was wearing his two-tone GMT-Master, along with his Pepsi GMT-Master at the same time.

In this next photo, taken toward the end of Marlon Brando's life we see him wearing a two-tone Rolex GMT Master on a Jubilee Bracelet.

San Francisco, California

INSIDE ROLEX

Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.

In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.

This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.

The Hans Wilsdorf Story: Founder Of Rolex

Rolex is one of the most recognizable brands on earth, but very little has been known about its real history. If you really, really want to understand what makes Rolex tick, I very highly recommend you read the fascinating story of Rolex's amazing founder–Hans Wilsdorf.

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